It's clear why Arsenal have become many people's favorites to win the Premier League during this term.
Consider their outcomes against Fulham and Crystal Palace compared to those same matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's defensive strength is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title ambition.
They lead the league for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the strongest in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their threat from set-pieces is highly documented, but opposition teams still don't know how to contain the Gunners from these situations.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals coming from these situations.
"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Potential
What is especially notable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their traditional rivals are struggling. This marks the initial occasion at this stage of the season since 1992 that none of Manchester City and United, Liverpool or Chelsea are in the Premier League top four.
The pressure was on manager Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that coveted first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and possessing the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in three straight Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding a goal
- Only three goals in 12 games across various contests
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now functioning with confidence and resolve.
